Singer Choi Jin-young carries the photo of Choi Jin-sil, his late elder sister and the country's iconic actress, during a funeral ceremony at a Seoul hospital in October 2008 after she killed herself. He also took his own life in 2010. / Korea Times file

Ex-husband hangs himself

By Yi Whan-woo

The late Cho Sung-min

The apparent suicide of Cho Sung-min, the ex-husband of the late movie and television star Choi Jin-sil, is more than another tragedy involving a celebrity.

The 39-year-old ex-pitcher of Japan's Yomiuri Giants marked the third "connected suicide" after his ex-wife and her younger brother Jin-young.

The late former couple is survived by their two children, who are being looked after by Choi's mother.

Cho was found hanging in a bathroom at his girlfriend's apartment in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul, Sunday, according to police. He had sent a text message hinting at an attempted suicide to her, and she called the police. One Internet posting pointed out the similarities in the way the ex-couple killed themselves. Choi hanged herself in her bathroom in 2008. The two were married in 2000 and divorced in 2004.

Cho remarried in 2007 but had been separated since 2010.

Police are looking into the exact circumstances of his death. "The text message reads, ‘Thank you for everything and be strong even if I will be away.' And we assume Cho took his own life," an investigator said.

The death of the ex-couple shocked the nation even more than their "fairytale" marriage that subsequently unraveled as if it was a bad soap opera.

The death of the ex-couple shocked the nation even more than their "fairytale" marriage that subsequently unraveled as if it was a bad soap opera.

Cho was a promising player _ he was one of the league's all-star team members in 1998. Choi featured in dozens of films as well as television dramas in the 1980s and 90s and was dubbed the "nation's actress." Their marriage took place despite Choi being five years older than Cho.

However, the relationship deteriorated with the couple accusing each other of being "unfaithful" and they divorced in August 2004 after Cho was arrested for beating his wife.

Choi was in a slump but was on the verge of coming back, when in October 2008 she killed herself in her apartment in Jamwon-dong, southern Seoul.

She had reportedly been depressed since her divorce over worries of raising her two children alone.

Police said she suffered due to rumors circulating on the Internet that her insistent demand for the repayment of debts led to the suicide of actor Ahn Jae-hwan. He borrowed a large sum from loan sharks over the years and killed himself in September 2008.

Cho was embroiled in a dispute with the bereaved family of Choi as he sought custody of his son and daughter.

Her younger brother and singer, Jin-young, deemed Cho's move as a step to take over her sister's wealth that her children were to inherit. The case was settled as Cho gave up his rights over her property.

Choi's death resulted in a number of copy-cat suicides among people, including celebrities and also her brother. He reportedly had been depressed since his sister died and hanged himself in March 2010 at his apartment in Nonhyun-dong, southern Seoul.

Her death also became tabloid fodder as a man in his 40s stole her remains in 2009, claiming he was "possessed by her soul that ordered him to do so."

Cho had a slump in the Japanese league from 2002 because of ankle injuries. He returned to the Korean baseball league in 2005 to play for the Hanwha Eagles until October 2007, and then served as a TV commentator before joining the Doosan Bears in 2011 as a coach.

He refused to extend his contract with the club in November last year when his term ended. Cho recently had a scuffle with strangers at a pub and underwent police questioning.